The Cherry-Tree Carol- Thomas (Cornwall) 1913 Sharp
1. When Joseph was an old man,
An old man was he,
He wedded our Mary,
The Queen of Galilee.
2 And when he had a-wedded her
And at home had her brought,
Mary proved to be with child;
But Joseph knew her not.
3 Then Joseph and Mary
Was a-walking in the grove,
They saw cherries and berries
As red as any rose
4 When Joseph and Mary
Was in the garden green,
They saw cherries and berries
That was fit to be seen.
5 And Mary said to Joseph,
In words meek and mild:
"Pick me some cherries, Joseph,
For I am with child."
6 Then Joseph spoke to Mary,
In words so unkind:
"Let him pick thee cherries, Mary,
Who brought thee with child."
7 Then Jesus spoke unto the tree
From within his mother's womb:
"Bow down, sweet cherry tree,
For my mother to have some."
8 Then the highest branches bent as low
As Mother Mary's knee;
And she picked of the cherries
By one, two, and three.
9 Then Mary had a young son
Which she dandled on her knee;
And she said to her fair child:
"What will this world be?"
10 "This world, he said, is no other
Than the stones in the street;
But the sun, moon, and stars
Shall sail under thy feet.--
I3 " And I must not be rocked
In silver nor gold;
But in a wood cradle
That rock on the ground.
I2 " And I must not be clothed
In purple nor poll;
But be clothed in fine linen,
The child is your own."
I have a large number of variants of this carol, but have never taken down so full a set of words as those which Mr. Thomas gave me. The carol usually finishes at the end of the eighth stanza (see English Folk Carols, Nos. 3 and 4), the remaining
verses generally forming part of a separate song, entitled " Joseph was a-walking." I have never before heard anyone sing the ninth and tenth stanzas of Mr. Thomas's version, which Miss Broadwood refers to in her note on "Christ made a Trance" (journal, Vol. iv, p. I4).- C. J. S.
The tune is a variant of that in Sandys' and Husk's collections. In the firstnamed collection it is wrongly barred in common time, though evidently in triple, like Mr. Sharp's. Husk gives what is either a real common-time form or someone's elucidation of Sandys' earlier version, altered to fit the time-signature given. (Husk does not state the source of any of his tunes). I give these two versions below. -A. G. G.
JOSEPH WAS AN OLD MAN.
SANDYS' Carols, I838.
Jo - seph was an old man, And an old man was he,
When he wed ded Ma - ry In the land of Gal - i - lee.
Re-barred:
IL
HusK's Songs of the Nativity.
Jo - seph was an old man, And an ...... old.., man was he,
g__ =t__I
zzz
h__ __
And he mar - ried Ma - ry, The Queen of Gal - i - lee.
See Journal, Vol. iii, p. 260, for another version and notes. Child gives a large
number of texts and valuable information concerning this old carol (English and
Scottish Ballads).-L. E. B.
I have noted the following variant.- R. V. W. Noted by R. Vaughan Williams. SUNG BY MR. DAVIES,
STOURPORT (HOP-PICKING AT AYLTON, NEAR HEREFORD), SEPTEMBER, I9I3.
(0) Jo - seph was an old man, And an old man was he, He
mar - ried sweet Ma - ry, by the Queen of [Glo - ry] ?